Rune Maid
by D3m0nDarks
Summary: A request came in asking for a strong mage to go undercover as a house cleaner and steal an important object from a wealthy man. Freed accepts the job, taking Laxus as secret backup. What he doesn't realize until it's too late is that his new job requires him to wear a maid uniform at all times. One-shot


**For my friend Kris, who also did the cover! Thank you very much!**

**Kinda imagined the duke to look like Angel from Ao no Exorcist if you want a good visual. And I couldn't think of a good name for the buttler (I know how it's spelled) but kinda thought he looked and acted a bit like William from Black Butler so I just called him that.**

**This took me over a month (I thought I would do it for Fraxus Week but I was extremely busy and then I only worked on it a little at a time after that)**

**So enjoy!**

"A secret mission?" Mira repeated what the greenette had said. He had just picked out a mission from the request board and had been reporting to the S-class mage that he would be taking it.

Freed nodded at the barmaid. "The mission is to go undercover and find a golden seal that a duke stole from someone's family. It's a precious heirloom and they saw him take it, but they don't have enough proof to do anything about it. Luckily, the duke is looking for someone to help clean around the mansion, it should be a perfect cover for searching around the house."

"You should be careful," the take-over mage warned, "he may have paid some strong mages to guard the place."

"I've already considered that possibility. That's why Laxus is coming as well, just in case anything goes wrong. Too many people have a higher chance of being found, so Ever and Bixlow agreed to stay here." Of course no one else had wanted the job of cleaning some stranger's house, but Freed didn't seem to have a problem with it. It had a high paying reward as well.

"You and Laxus are going together on a mission, huh?" The statement was mostly said for the barmaid's own enjoyment. "Well then, have fun, you two!" She barely managed to suppressed a giggle.

The rune mage raised an eyebrow, but dismissed her words. "Alright. We'll be off then." He gave her a small wave before joining Laxus' side at the doors, and the two left for the station in utter silence. That's how things often went. Laxus had never been one for unnecessary chit-chat, and Freed was perfectly fine with that. The silence was never awkward or uncomfortable. And as always, the train ride was just as silent.

Once they got to the client's house, or rather, mansion, the duo was reinformed of everything the request sheet had basically stated, pointing out that they didn't want to cause a commotion or the duke would take them to court, which is why they decided to hire someone to steal it without his notice, that way he would assume a thief had taken it from him. And unfortunately, they weren't expecting more than one mage to come, so they would have to find a place for Laxus to stay on their own.

Duke Ferris, as he was called, owned a mansion that wasn't too hard to find as it probably took up as much space as half the town. It was surrounded by lush forest, and even had a courtyard for sports such as fencing. But the mansion itself was too far from the town. If Freed was to get in trouble, Laxus needed to be within hearing range and be able to reach him quickly.

"I can camp out in the forest." The blonde had suggested.

Although Freed wasn't too keen on the idea, it seemed to be their only option. Reluctantly, he agreed. "Alright. It seems as though Ferris is offering housing to those that work for him. Now all that's left is to get the job."

"I'll be listening in case anything goes wrong." The leader assured his captain. "Good luck."

Their conversations had never been very wordy. They said what was necessary, and went on their way. The greenette bid him goodbye before taking a calming breath and walking up towards the large oak doors and ringing the doorbell. He only had to wait a few moments before a man dressed in black who he assumed to be a butler opened it for him.

"State your business." The man droned, voice monotone.

"I'm here about the job request for someone to clean the mansion." The rune mage replied, matter-of-factly.

The butler looked him up and down before sighing and stepping aside, beckoning him in. The Raijinshuu member followed him in, scowling at the cold man as soon as his back was turned.

The butler led him up the stairs, heading right at the top and down the hall a few steps before holding opening a large door, gesturing the wizard to enter.

As soon as Freed stepped in the room, he realized it was a study. Piled from the floor to the ceiling in shelves upon shelves of books. Towards the back of the room, sat a large mahogany desk where a man sat, filling out papers, a large window behind him. The door quietly shut behind him, and Freed was left alone with the stranger, wondering if he should speak up or allow the man to continue his work until he took a found a good place to stop.

Luckily, the greenette didn't have to think too hard as the man quickly looked up, brown eyes flashing towards him and welcoming the mage with a cheerful smile, long sandy-blonde locks framing his heart-shaped face. "Hello there. How may I help you?" The man seemed kind enough.

"Are you Duke Ferris?" The man nodded, placing his pen down so the Raijinshuu captain had his undivided attention. The mage paused for a moment, feeling uncomfortable having this man staring at him so intently. "I came here to apply for the job." He silently noted that not a single bodyguard was to be seen. That either meant they weren't around at the moment, possibly slacking off if they weren't very good at their job as he had first assumed, or they were too good to be seen, which could cause great trouble for him later on. If he had any, that was.

"Ah, you'd like to fill the position as one of my maids?" The duke beamed.

The term "maid" made Freed cringe slightly. He hated the sound of it. "Yes." He replied, albeit a little reluctantly.

Ferris stood up from where he sat and made his way over towards the captain, eying him over. "I see. You know how to dust and organize books and everything?"

Freed usually spent his spare time in the library, reading old books he found laying around, even reorganizing those that were out of place, and always made sure everything in his apartment was where it was supposed to go, nice and tidy, not a cobweb to be seen. "Yes, sir."

"Perfect!" The duke cheered, seeming to enjoy being called "sir". "What is your name?"

"My name is Freed."

"What a beautiful name, and for a beautiful lady as well!" He gave Freed a wink before turning back towards the desk.

The rune mage felt shivers run down his spine at the man's compliments. It wasn't the first time he had been mistaken for a lady, but he still didn't like it, or being called "beautiful", especially by this stranger. "Sir, I'm-"

"You're hired! You wouldn't believe how many boys applied for the job, how hard is it to find a female maid? The media blows the amount of women that work as maids out of proportion."

A frown etched itself onto the greenette's face. 'I see... So he only hires women? Then I guess I'll have to go along with it until I can find that seal.' Not only was this man a thief, but he was sexist as well. If Freed didn't hate him before, he certainly did now.

The duke turned around again, still beaming. He held a piece of paper and a pen out towards the captain. "Here is your contract. And I'm sorry, it was rude of me to interrupt. What were you saying?"

Freed quickly faked a smile towards the man. "I was saying I'm grateful for the compliments, sire, and I'm honored to be working with you." Without another word, he signed the document.

"No, thank you, your beauty will certainly brighten up this dreary place! Now, follow me, I shall show you to your room." He turned, not waiting for the now quite disgusted mage to respond.

The greenette followed him wordlessly down the hall, ignoring a few curious glances from the other maids that were running back and forth throughout the mansion. Finally, they arrived at a door carved with ivy patterns. The duke held the door open for the wizard. "This is your room, your uniform is in the closet, I hope everything is to your liking."

"Uniform?" Freed repeated, confused. He hadn't heard anything about a uniform.

"Yes, it was in the contract you signed. You must be wearing the uniform during working hours. Hours are 9am to 4pm, you get an hour break at noon to have lunch. Meals and anything else you need will be provided, just ask anyone else who works here if you need anything, and of course I'll be more than happy to acquire whatever you wish for you should you ask."

The greenette's eye twitched. This wasn't in the request description. But alas, he had to do it, lest the pride of the Raijinshuu be soiled. They had accepted the job, there was no way he would be backing out. "What if the outfit doesn't fit?" He decided to question, reluctant to see what the uniform even looked like.

"No need to worry about that, there's plenty of sizes in the closet, why don't you try one on now?" The duke ushered the mage towards the walk-in closet.

Realizing he had no other choice, Freed slid open the doors to the closet. As expected, the room was bigger than it needed to be, with plenty of outfits available. To the right, there was a rack from which several maid outfits hung, coloring the closet in black and white. With a sigh, the rune mage unwillingly took one off that was in his size. Or, at least, he hoped so. He had never measured himself in women's clothing.

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily for the Raijinshuu captain, the outfit fit, and he turned to look in the mirror, scowling in disgust at the frills. Indeed, the outfit did bring out his more feminine qualities, but that wasn't one of his top priorities. He wished he could stay locked up inside the closet for the rest of his life, trying to erase the memory from his mind. But alas, the duke was waiting for him just outside. He had a duty to perform, and he wasn't going to let a lack of comfortable attire get in the way of his mission. Taking a shaky breath, Freed prepared himself as best he could, and slid the door open once more before stepping out, heels clacking on the wooden floor with every step. Of course he wasn't unprepared; if anything were to happen, he had managed to conceal a tanto in the dreaded outfit. He may not have his beloved sword, but he still needed a way to fight if something happened.

Duke Ferris, who seemed to have been entertaining himself by admiring a painting that was on the wall, turned and smiled at the mage, glancing him up and down with a look in his eyes that Freed could only label as lust. "I almost forgot," the duke spoke up, reaching into his pocket and pulling out something small, handing it to the greenette. "A hair tie, so your lovely hair doesn't get in the way of your eyes as you're working."

Freed swallowed down the sigh that had nearly escaped his lips. Of course he had always scorned tying his hair back. He hated the feeling of air on the back of his neck, which was part of why he had regrown his hair out once again after cutting it. Regardless, Freed took the elastic from the duke, pulling his hair into a ponytail and tying it. Ferris seemed to nod in delighted approval before narrowing his eyes, a frown etching itself onto his face.

"You missed some." He pointed out, raising his hand to brush the bangs away from where they covered the mage's eye.

Freed instinctively stepped back, knowing if the duke ever saw what laid under his bangs his identity as a wizard would be clear as day, and the mission ruined just as it had started. As the greenette recoiled from his hand, Duke Ferris' eyes widened in surprise, taken aback, and possibly insulted as well.

"I'm sorry… I like my hair like this. I'd prefer to not have it tucked back." He quickly blurted out the best excuse he could come up with at the moment.

Luckily, the duke seemed to buy the lie as he smiled in understanding, returning his hand to his side. "I see. Well, as long as it doesn't get in the way, that's fine." Freed held in a sigh of relief. "Now, follow me." He turned without another word, strutting out of the room, leaving the Raijinshuu captain to fall in step behind him.

It wasn't long before the duke came to a stop in front of another large wooden door similar to the one to Freed's room. The blonde rapped his knuckles on it, the hollow sound echoing throughout the abandoned corridor. After a moment, the door opened, revealing the butler from earlier, a now rather shocked expression on his face once his eyes landed on the greenette.

"This is Freed. She will be working with us from now on." Ferris explained before turning towards the said mage. "Freed, this is William. I believe he showed you in?"

"Yes, sir."

The wizard was suddenly taken aback when William bowed before him. "I apologize for any rudeness I may have shown you earlier. I did not mean to offend you. It seems I had mistaken you for a boy."

Freed almost felt his eye twitch. Almost. Yet he managed to give the butler a fake smile before speaking up again, his voice unnaturally pleasant for how he felt. "It's quite alright. I get that a lot. People say I take after my father."

"William, show Freed around the mansion, help her out until she gets accustomed to it." He turned towards Freed, not giving the butler a chance to object, although the wizard doubted he would anyways. "Unfortunately, I must be getting back to my work, but feel free to ask William if you have any more questions." With one last smile directed towards the greenette, Ferris strode off, leaving Freed alone with the man in an uncomfortably eerie silence as they watched him go.

"So," The butler began, turning back towards the Raijinshuu captain, "shall I show you around now?"

Freed nodded. "Please do." It was obvious William wasn't one for talking and would much rather show him around the mansion and be done with him. In that aspect at least, Freed and he were similar. The greenette wanted nothing more than to find the seal and get this mission over with. And out of his memory.

The butler showed him around the mansion, almost too quickly, as if eager to get his job over with, but Freed memorized it regardless. Once he explained to Freed where to start tomorrow, he led him back to his room so he could get ready for dinner. The act in itself didn't take too long. The wizard changed into something more suitable; although still not entirely enjoyable to the male.

The mage glared at the mirror. His reflection scowled back, clad in a long, plain, purple dress. It wasn't his style in the least bit, but it was doable. He had seen the other maids wearing similar clothes around the mansion when they weren't working, and he figured it best to try to fit in with them.

The dinner itself was, unsurprisingly, quite delicious. All the other maids were friendly as well, not to mention, highly curious. They asked him where he came from, about his family, why he decided to become a maid, and so on. He gave them the basic story he had come prepared with; his brother was ill and he needed the money and a place to stay as he was contagious, and they couldn't afford the hospital bills. He had always been a tidy person, and figured he may as well put that to use. They seemed to buy the story, even pity him, wishing his fake brother well.

Socializing had never been his thing. He would like to say he was good at it, but that didn't mean he enjoyed it. He preferred to sit in silence, perhaps reading a book or doing some paperwork, as long as he was around people who's company he enjoyed. But these people, they were all strangers. Being crowded by them made him uncomfortable. So finally, once dinner was finished, he quickly excused himself, retreating back to his room to escape the commotion.

The first thing he did upon returning was open his window, scanning the dark horizon for any signs of movement. There was nothing, only the swaying of leaves in the wind and the occasional bat passing by, not like he could see much of it in the darkness anyways. With a sigh, he pulled away from the window before collapsing on the bed, closing his eyes momentarily.

"Good job on surviving the first day, you did wonderful, _miss_."

A single turquoise eye opened again, shifting its murderous gaze towards the blonde that loomed over his bed, arms folded, face plastered in a confident smirk. His approach had been silent as ever, yet Freed wasn't startled by the Dragon Slayer's presence in the least bit.

"It's for the best if they think I'm a girl. You heard them, didn't you? They probably wouldn't have hired me if they knew I was a boy, and we would have to conclude the mission as a failure... Unless you wouldn't have minded posing as a female?"

The older mage snorted at the idea. "I'll pass, thank you." Joking aside, his tone suddenly became more serious once he spoke up again. "Any ideas where he may have hidden the seal?"

Of course, Freed had already considered all the possibilities. "I've inspected every room, except for the duke's. I wasn't shown the inside of his, only where it was. I doubt he would go through great lengths to hide something as simple as a letter seal, so it would most likely be either in his bedroom, perhaps in a desk he may have in there, or his study. I'm assuming the latter, as that's where he does most of his paperwork."

"That sounds about right. When do you think you'll be able to start searching for it?"

"Well I don't believe he has any bodyguards like we originally worried about. As far as I can tell, he does honest business, except for a small knack for swiping things, which he apparently isn't very good at if he was caught stealing it, so I doubt we'll have to worry about me being watched. He doesn't seem like a very precautious man from what I can tell. As for getting into his study, it seems like he spends his time in there, so I would need a good excuse to go in, never mind search his drawers. I would have to study him for a few days, see when he leaves, and for how long, and sneak in when the time is best."

The blonde smirked, proud of his captain. Not like he would admit that out loud though. "You've got it all figured out, huh?"

"Of course." The greenette replied curtly, hoisting himself up from he bed. "Now I need a shower... I feel disgusting just having worn that dreadful thing." He scowled at the memory of the frilly black and white costume that was now his daily uniform.

Laxus laughed, relaxing against the king sized bed as he watched the Raijinshuu member sulking as he made his way into the large closet and then back out again, pajamas draped over his arm, before he headed into the bathroom, closing the door with a bit more force than he needed to. The rune mage may hold an aura of dignity at almost all times, however, there were moments where even he acted like a child. And the blonde always relished in being around to watch the show.

But once the greenette had vanished, Laxus was left alone, with nothing to do. At least during the day he had been listening in and making sure everything was going smoothly. He waited, hoping he could catch the captain singing in the shower or something, but as expected, there was nothing but silence besides the sound of the water running. A little disappointed, not that he would admit, Laxus' eyes scanned the room, searching for something to entertain him.

Absentmindedly, the blond wandered over to the bookshelf, skimming the rather dusty titles that were a part of the collection. None of them looked even remotely interesting; not like he was much of a reader anyways. Figuring it wouldn't matter, he picked out a book at random before returning to the bed and laying down once more. He skimmed throughout the pages, not really paying any attention to what was on them.

Finally, the door opened. Laxus breathed a silent sigh of relief that his boredom had come to an end, casting a glance over the top of the book towards his captain.

Freed stood by the bed, clad only in a pair of pajama pants. His hair was still soaking wet, and he was in the middle of drying it off with a towel. Feeling a pair of eyes on him, he looked over towards the Dragon Slayer, a look of confusion etched onto his face. "Laxus?"

"Hm?"

"You know that book is written in Spanish, right?"

There was a moment of silence from the blond. He hadn't even been paying attention to the book in his hands, so of course he hadn't bothered trying to read any of it. But he wasn't about to admit he had been blankly staring at a book, pretending to read it, either. "Of course I do." He replied curtly upon letting out a huff before tossing the book over his shoulder, quickly getting up and placing it back where he had found it on the bookshelf upon seeing the glare his captain cast towards him.

The greenette raised an eyebrow, not believing a word his leader said. But he decided to let it pass. Instead of questioning the poor blond on it any further, he took a seat on the bed, rubbing his still slightly moist hair in a final attempt to get as much water as he could out before setting the towel down beside him. Once it had been placed aside, Freed reached over, picking up the hairbrush that had been laid on his nightstand, and began running it through his tangled locks, letting out a slight cuss every once in a while when it would hit a particularly painful knot.

After a few unsuccessful tries at a particularly hard spot, Freed felt firm fingers wrap around his own on the handle, making him jump slightly. Laxus pried the brush from him, forcing the greenette to sit there silently as the blond worked on his hair for him.

"Wouldn't it be easier to brush it in the shower?" The leader droned, sounding like he could care less.

"Of course, but I didn't think of that until I was already in." He was slightly irritated at himself for not considering the fact that there probably wasn't a brush already in the bathroom like he was used to.

Once he was finally done getting all of the tangles out, the lightning wizard placed the brush back on the nightstand and sighed. "Now go put on a shirt." He demanded, giving no room for complaint. Freed blinked in confusion. Was the fact that he was shirtless really bothering the blond? Before he could open his mouth to question it, the leader continued. "If anyone comes in here and sees you shirtless they're going to know you're a guy."

The captain nodded in understanding before making his way to the closet once more and adding a matching cream nightshirt to his attire. Once he was dressed, he flicked the lights off, stumbling back to his bed, much to his leader's amusement, and hopped under the covers, enjoying the warmth the luxury bed provided. Laxus waited until the greenette's breathing evened out before making his leave, shutting the window once more behind him.

That's the pattern that they found themselves in over the next several nights.

About a week passed before Freed was finally able to get a chance to enter the duke's study. Ferris was busy getting lunch, and the greenette, having observed his schedule for days, managed to sneak in. The window by the back would provide a nice, quick escape route once he had found the seal. Once the item had been retrieved, he had no need to stick around any longer.

Luckily, it seemed the duke hadn't been very smart about hiding it. Freed found what he was looking for after searching through a couple of drawers. A gold seal, just as described, adorned with a fox in a hunting position on the top and intricate patterns carved into the sides. The bottom of the stamp was a fancy 'F', as the client's last name. It was clear the duke had snatched it intending to claim the F stood for Ferris. It was obviously hand crafted and expertly made. It would surely catch quite a price if one decided to sell it. Upon being sure this seal was the correct one, the greenette quickly pocketed it.

He had just been about to take his leave when the door suddenly opened, making his heart lurch. Duke Ferris stood in the entrance, staring at Freed in surprise, a plate of food in his hand. The captain gulped nervously to himself. The duke must have had more paperwork than usual to do if he had brought his lunch with him back to his study. Nonetheless, the sandy blond gave him a warm smile.

"Freed, what a pleasant surprise. What brings you to my study?"

Freed, having had plenty of practice coming up with excuses on the spot, quickly blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "I was going to do a bit of cleaning in here if you didn't mind. I thought I would surprise you."

Ferris' smile only seemed to grow. "Ah, I see. That's very kind of you. And indeed, coming back to find you here is truly quite a nice surprise." He strode towards his desk, setting the plate on it.

"I guess I should take my leave; I wouldn't want to distract you from your work. My apologies." He hated this man. He hated being in his presence. It made him uncomfortable. Freed wanted nothing more than to leave, and never look back.

"Not so fast," Ferris move to stand in front of the greenette, leaning forward and placing his hands on the desk on either side of the captain, effectively blocking his escape. "You've only just arrived, why don't you stay a while and keep me company?"

"No, I must be getting back to work, I'm sorry for the interruption." Freed was finding it hard to breath, being so close to this man. He needed to escape, and fast.

"It's quite alright, I'm sure the other maids can handle it." The duke moved one of his hands, placing it on the mage's side. He leaned in, his mouth hovering next to the wizard's ear. "And I'm certain you'll find my company quite entertaining."

Freed flinched at the contact. The situation only seemed to be getting worse. "I'm sure you have plenty of work to do, that's why you were going to eat in here, right? I really should let you get to that, please excuse me."

The duke made no signs that he would move as his hand began to slide lower, inching towards the greenette's thigh. "It can wait."

Finally, Freed snapped. "Get off of me!" He roared, his outburst suddenly followed by the sound of shattering glass. Both heads turned, one in delight, the other in shock.

In the middle of the shards of broken glass, stood Laxus, and he didn't look the least bit happy. He radiated an aura of fury, electricity crackling around him. Before Ferris even had a chance to comprehend what was going on, the Dragon Slayer trudged towards him, snatching the duke by the shirt and flinging him against the wall.

The man crashed against a bookshelf, the objects on it falling to the ground all around him, as he stared, dazed, at the pissed off wizard, not being able to say a word.

Laxus narrowed his eyes, bearing his teeth at the duke. "Don't _ever_ touch what that belongs to me again." He snarled, voice rumbling throughout the room, leaving Ferris to only give a small nod to show he understood.

Without another word, he turned on his heel, snatching the greenette up bridal style before he had a chance to complain, and jumped back out the window just before the door was burst open, everyone crowding in to see what was going on.

Once they were a good ways into the forest, the blond set down his captain. "Are you alright?"

Freed gave a small nod. "I'm not hurt... But I feel disgusting." He scowled, running a hand over where the duke's had made contact with him, trying to remove the feeling from his memory. Once he deemed it to be a worthless effort, he sighed before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the seal and handing it back to Laxus. "I've checked it already; it's definitely the seal the client asked for."

Laxus smiled at his captain. Of course he was proud, anyone would be to have someone like him on their team. "Good work." He complimented the rune mage, taking the seal from him before he began to head in the direction of town, leaving the greenette to fall in step behind him.

There was several minutes of silence between the two. Laxus could tell his partner was deep in thought. Instead of asking about it, he decided to wait until he spoke up on his own, knowing it wouldn't take very long.

"Laxus... What did you mean when you told him not to touch what belonged to you?..."

"Exactly what it sounded like." He didn't feel like elaborating much further. It would be pointless. He was certain Freed already knew what he meant. It was a known fact Dragon Slayers, 2nd generation or not, were all highly possessive.

"But..."

Laxus came to a sudden halt, turning on his heel. Freed was forced to come to a quick stop as to not crash into the slayer. Not that it mattered in the end either way, as the blond snaked his arms around the younger mage, pulling him to his chest. "You're mine. No one else can have you." Before the shorter male could protest, Laxus leaned down, sealing his lips over the other's.

The kiss lasted only a few seconds, but it was passionate and warm, letting all of their unsaid emotions flow between them. Once Laxus finally pulled away, he smirked upon seeing the shocked look etched upon the younger one's face, eyes wide and mouth ajar. "And by the way, I like the outfit. It looks good on you."

Freed's cheeks flamed, suddenly remembering he was still in the maid costume before pushing away from the lightning mage. "I hate it..." He hissed, realizing his clothes were still at the mansion. There was no way he would be able to get them back.

His leader laughed, enjoying the flustered look about him and anger that would show up whenever the greenette was embarrassed. As much as the idea of making him travel all the way back home in the outfit amused him, he silently decided to go to the clothes shop and town and get him something decent before handing in the quest. He didn't want anyone else seeing him like this.

As Laxus began to walk again, Freed took his place at his side, standing a bit closer than he normally would, letting their hands brush together occasionally. Despite the situation he was in and everything that had just happened... Freed still felt... happy.

His favorite blond returned his feelings, and that was more than he could ever ask for.

**I got the idea for Laxus reading a book in another language from another story, so I won't take credit for that one.**

**Honestly, I expected this story to be like 1k. I'm actually glad I finally got this done with. Was starting to seem like a chore writing it. I'm taking a break from writing Fraxus for the moment. I'm going to finish my chapter story and I've already begun writing two different versions of a Stingue story (which I expect to be VERY long with both versions... each one will be completely different because I originally couldn't decide what roles to have them in as they would both be so different... so I'm doing both.)**


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